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K'ess
Toren K'ess was the Malazan Fist appointed as the commander of Malazan forces garrisoned in Pale. He was a balding dark man.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 6 He had been on Dujek Onearm's staff before he was put in charge of Pale when Dujek headed south.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 13 In Orb Sceptre Throne Half of his troops had been requested by the Malazan Ambassador Aragan down south towards Darujhistan. The other half remained in Pale. He was present in a meeting with the Lord Mayor of Pale when a shade appeared, announcing the reinstatement of the Legate in Darujhistan and demanding the allegiance of Pale, which was a Malazan protectorate. K'ess sent a rider towards Darujhistan to find out what was going on.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 6 While at the garrison, a fire broke out consuming the kitchen and barracks. Ostensibly under attack by the citizens of Pale, he decided to move out of the city and down south towards Dhavran. The Malazans broke down the door of the garrison, crushing several members of the mob outside the gates, and marched out of Pale.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 7 K'ess had received word from Captain Goyan's contingent about a rendezvous south of Dhavran with the Malaz 5th Army under Fist Steppen. Soon after, he had heard from his Barghast scouts that a large number of Rhivi were closing in on them. When K'ess and his troops arrived at a stream near Dhavran, they found that the crossing and settlement were barely defensible from any attacks and the Fist made the decision to continue south double time in the hope of shaking off the Rhivi.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 10 They arrived at Fort Step where they met up with Fist Steppen, bringing the total number of Malazan infantry to roughly ten thousand troops. Here, K'ess and Steppen witnessed the Rhivi engage the Seguleh and Aman and get slaughtered. Watching this, K'ess decided to push south post-haste to avoid a similar fate, Steppen volunteering to act as a cover for their retreat.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 15 K'ess and his troops made a stand in a narrow valley mouth and were charged by roughly four hundred Seguleh who, despite their far lower numbers, incapacitated about forty percent of the Malazans within a short space of time. At that point, Ambassador Aragan arrived with the remnants of the Rhivi who had followed him and who promptly engaged the Seguleh. The Malazans regrouped behind a shield wall further up the valley. Waiting to get charged again, K'ess then witnessed the Seguleh being annihilated by the Moranth in an aerial bombardment with Moranth munitions. Afterwards he met Attaché Torn of the Moranth and K'ess intuited that the Moranth intended to do the same to the entire city of Darujhistan should it come to that.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 17 Waiting with the main group of the Moranth outside Darujhistan for a signal from the vanguard, K'ess watched with relief the flare sent up by Elect Galene, signaling that the Seguleh had backed down, thus sparing Darujhistan utter destruction at the hands of the Moranth. K'ess and his remaining troops moved back to their garrison in Pale.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 21 Notes and references Category:Males Category:Fists Category:Malazans